# Maintenance Required (film)
*Maintenance Required* is a 2025 American romantic comedy directed by Lacey Uhlemeyer and released as a Prime Video original film by [Amazon MGM Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-mgm-studios) on October 8, 2025.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) • [2](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/09/96/42/00814/2025-10-09.pdf) It stars [Madelaine Petsch](https://www.edgepedia.org/madelaine-petsch) as Charlie, the owner of an all-female mechanic shop who unknowingly falls for her business rival Beau ([Jacob Scipio](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacob-scipio)) through anonymous conversations on an online car forum.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) Critics widely noted that the plot closely follows the 1998 romantic comedy *You've Got Mail*, itself a remake of Ernst Lubitsch's *The Shop Around the Corner*, with the bookstores of the original replaced by auto shops.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Prime Video original film, October 8, 2025; distributed by Amazon MGM Studios[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Lacey Uhlemeyer; screenplay by Uhlemeyer, Roo Berry, and Erin Falconer[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/) |
| Lead cast | Madelaine Petsch as Charlie, Jacob Scipio as Beau; supporting roles for Madison Bailey, Katy O'Brian, Inanna Sarkis, Matteo Lane, and Jim Gaffigan[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required/cast-and-crew) |
| Plot | Charlie's all-female mechanic shop is threatened by a corporate competitor; her anonymous online confidant turns out to be Beau, the rival threatening her business[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) |
| Runtime and rating | 1h 40m (IMDb lists 1h 42m); rated PG-13[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/) |
| Critical reception | 38% Tomatometer from 13 reviews; 40% Popcornmeter from 100+ audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) |
| Filming | Shot mainly in Leeds, England, with additional locations in Big Sur, California, and Hampton Court Palace; shooting ran August 1 to October 1, 2024[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/locations/) • [7](https://www.vfxcallsheet.com/portal/maintenance-required) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) runs O'Malley's, an all-female, family-owned mechanic shop she took over from her late father.[8](https://www.filmsnobreviews.com/2025/12/review-maintenance-required/) • [9](https://www.highonfilms.com/maintenance-required-2025-movie-review/) When Miller Boys, a corporate auto-repair chain, opens directly across the street, Charlie's business is threatened, and she shares her worries with an anonymous confidant on an online car forum.[10](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/new-movie-maintenance-required-on-amazon-iu-alumna-katy-obrian) The confidant, posting under the handle BeauWheels, is in fact Beau (Jacob Scipio), the executive leading the chain's expansion into her neighborhood.[11](https://castalkie.com/maintenance-required-filming-locations-cast-plot/) As their online bond deepens and their real-world rivalry intensifies, the truth of their identities threatens the relationship.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required)
### Cast and characters
Madelaine Petsch, known for the television series *Riverdale*, plays Charlie; Jacob Scipio plays Beau.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon) Madison Bailey plays Izzy, Charlie's manager, who also runs a part-time nail salon inside the garage, and [Katy O'Brian](https://www.edgepedia.org/katy-obrian) plays Kam, Charlie's friend and fellow employee.[9](https://www.highonfilms.com/maintenance-required-2025-movie-review/) • [10](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/new-movie-maintenance-required-on-amazon-iu-alumna-katy-obrian) Inanna Sarkis plays Jessie, a social-media-focused team member; [Matteo Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/matteo-lane) plays Max, an eccentric client; and [Jim Gaffigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-gaffigan) plays Frank, the out-of-touch CEO of Miller Boys.[11](https://castalkie.com/maintenance-required-filming-locations-cast-plot/) • [10](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/new-movie-maintenance-required-on-amazon-iu-alumna-katy-obrian)
## Production
The film was produced by Future Artists Entertainment and Luber Roklin Entertainment, with Amazon MGM Studios handling distribution; Matt Luber, Lena Roklin, and Matt Williams served as producers.[7](https://www.vfxcallsheet.com/portal/maintenance-required) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required/cast-and-crew) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) ran from August 1 to October 1, 2024, with pre-production beginning September 5, 2024.[7](https://www.vfxcallsheet.com/portal/maintenance-required)
**Locations.** Although the story is set in the [San Francisco Bay Area](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-bay-area), most filming took place in Leeds, England. IMDb lists meeting-room scenes at 6 Wellington Place in Leeds and interior scenes at Versa Leeds Studios, with additional shooting in [Big Sur](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-sur), California, and a concours scene at [Hampton Court Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/hampton-court-palace).[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/locations/) Viewers can spot San Francisco landmarks including the Ferry Building and the Transamerica Pyramid, which serves as Beau's company headquarters in the film.[12](https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2025/10/14/san-francisco-shines-in-new-romcom-maintenance-required) • [11](https://castalkie.com/maintenance-required-filming-locations-cast-plot/)
## Reception
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film held a 38% Tomatometer from 13 reviews and a 40% Popcornmeter score from more than 100 audience ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) In *The Guardian*, Benjamin Lee gave it one star out of five, calling it a "charmless" copy of *You've Got Mail* whose beats are regurgitated without credit, and criticizing the mismatch between its anti-corporate stance and its production by Amazon with visible product placement.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon) Other reviewers were divided: Jeffrey Lyles rated it 6/10, crediting the trio of Petsch, O'Brian, and Bailey as the film's most entertaining element, while Rachel Wagner of Hallmarkies Podcast called it "a classic story that just works."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required) A FilmSnobReviews review graded it D-, finding the leads' chemistry lacking compared with [Tom Hanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hanks) and [Meg Ryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/meg-ryan) in the 1998 original.[8](https://www.filmsnobreviews.com/2025/12/review-maintenance-required/)
**Audience performance.** Despite the mixed critical reception, the film reached No. 2 on Prime Video's top 10 list the day after its release, behind [Mark Wahlberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-wahlberg)'s action-thriller *[Play Dirty](https://www.edgepedia.org/play-dirty-2025-film)*.[13](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-videos-new-romantic-comedy-has-already-crashed-the-top-10-and-this-movie-is-pure-comfort-watch-material)
## Relationship to You've Got Mail
Reviewers consistently identified the film as a retelling of *You've Got Mail* (1998), in which Meg Ryan's independent bookstore owner battles a corporate bookseller owned by Tom Hanks's character while the two fall in love anonymously online.[10](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/new-movie-maintenance-required-on-amazon-iu-alumna-katy-obrian) Benjamin Lee of *The Guardian* wrote that he could find no "based on" or "thanks to" credit to the 1998 film, which was itself a legally sound remake of a film inspired by a play, and noted that the script cheekily refers to "a sweet little shop around the corner."[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon) The updates to the premise, replacing dueling bookstores with mechanic shops and the AOL chatroom with a Reddit forum for car enthusiasts, were cited by some critics as ill-suited to a more online age.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon)
## Title and themes
The cast and director described the title as working on several levels: literal car maintenance, and a larger metaphor for maintaining relationships, businesses, and life in general.[14](https://thedirect.com/article/maintenance-required-star-madelaine-petsch-explains-why-her-new-romance-films-title-is-so-perfect) The film's tension comes from the contrast between a neighborhood shop where the mechanics know customers by name and a standardized corporate franchise, and the reconciliation in the final act is proposed as an invitation to restore a beat-up 1968 Dodge together rather than as a speech.[15](https://moviesense.io/maintenance-required)
## References
1. [Maintenance Required, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required)
2. [34 Entertainment, The Beacon, October 9, 2025](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/09/96/42/00814/2025-10-09.pdf)
3. [Benjamin Lee, "Maintenance Required review – Amazon's synthetic You've Got Mail rip-off," The Guardian, October 8, 2025](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/08/maintenance-required-review-amazon)
4. [Maintenance Required (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/)
5. [Maintenance Required: Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maintenance_required/cast-and-crew)
6. [Maintenance Required (2025) Filming & production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33335602/locations/)
7. [Maintenance Required, VFX Callsheet](https://www.vfxcallsheet.com/portal/maintenance-required)
8. [William Eguizabal, "Review: Maintenance Required," FilmSnobReviews, December 27, 2025](https://www.filmsnobreviews.com/2025/12/review-maintenance-required/)
9. [Rhea Raj Shinde, "Maintenance Required (2025) Movie Review," High On Films](https://www.highonfilms.com/maintenance-required-2025-movie-review/)
10. [Ursula Stickelmaier, "COLUMN: 'Maintenance Required' shifts the rom-com genre into high gear," Indiana Daily Student, October 13, 2025](https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/new-movie-maintenance-required-on-amazon-iu-alumna-katy-obrian)
11. [Lakshya Kaushik, "Where Was Maintenance Required Filmed? See All Locations," Castalkie, October 10, 2025](https://castalkie.com/maintenance-required-filming-locations-cast-plot/)
12. [Shawna Chen, "San Francisco shines in new romcom 'Maintenance Required,'" Axios San Francisco, October 14, 2025](https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2025/10/14/san-francisco-shines-in-new-romcom-maintenance-required)
13. ["Prime Video's new romantic comedy has already crashed the top 10," Tom's Guide, October 9, 2025](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-videos-new-romantic-comedy-has-already-crashed-the-top-10-and-this-movie-is-pure-comfort-watch-material)
14. [Russ Milheim, "Maintenance Required Star Madelaine Petsch Explains Why the Title Is So Perfect," The Direct, October 8, 2025](https://thedirect.com/article/maintenance-required-star-madelaine-petsch-explains-why-her-new-romance-films-title-is-so-perfect)
15. ["Meaning of 'Maintenance Required' (2025) – Comprehensive Analysis," MovieSense](https://moviesense.io/maintenance-required)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2025 › Titles M to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license